Implementation Grant: Enhancing Diversity in the Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Population Through Curricular Change

实施补助金：通过课程改革增强机械工程本科生的多样性

• 批准号: 0431756
• 负责人: Ilene Busch-Vishniac
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Johns Hopkins University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-09-01 至 2009-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0431756&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Implementation; Grant; Enhancing; Diversity; Undergraduate

Johns Hopkins University will lead a consortium of engineering schools to change the core mechanical engineering curriculum to make engineering more attractive to a diverse community. The overriding goal is to reconstruct undergraduate engineering curricula so that engineering is able to attract and retain a larger, more diverse population while maintaining or enhancing its standards for essential skills and knowledge. The hypothesis is that engineering will attract and retain a more diverse set of students if the curriculum has: greater linkages between the fundamentals and applications and between technical and nontechnical topics, more teaming experiences, shorter critical path lengths, more focus on the impact of engineering on the human experience, and a general atmosphere of inclusivity rather than exclusivity. All of the partnering institutions have committed to running the pilot curriculum and to participating in the reform process. There are 8 partnering academic institutions in this project: California State University at Los Angeles, The University of Washington, Michigan State University, Tuskegee University, Howard University, Smith College, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Johns Hopkins University. All of these schools have a significant history of educational research and innovation, and all are committed to participating in the entire project, including piloting new modules and courses. The focus in this project is on process, i.e. on creating a rigorous process for curriculum revision that makes programs more attractive to a diverse community. The process involves the following steps: creating a comprehensive database of topics currently included in mechanical engineering curricula (already well under way); reviewing the topic list to eliminate material no longer relevant and adding material which is needed in the future; associating with each topic the prerequisites for understanding, the applications to which it applies, and nontechnical material which could be linked; building a curriculum map from the database and stated objectives of minimizing critical path length, integrating across technical topics and across technical and nontechnical topics, introducing more focus on applications and the social imperatives for engineering, introducing more teaming experiences, and transitioning to a more inclusive environment; piloting of new courses or course modules to test the hypothesis that the new curriculum will attract and retain a more diverse community of students. This will be accompanied by rigorous assessment and evaluation.

约翰霍普金斯大学将领导一个工程学院联盟，改变核心机械工程课程，使工程对多元化社区更具吸引力。最重要的目标是重建本科工程课程，使工程能够吸引和留住更大，更多样化的人口，同时保持或提高其基本技能和知识的标准。假设是，工程将吸引和留住一个更多样化的学生，如果课程有：基础知识和应用之间的联系，技术和非技术主题之间的联系，更多的团队合作经验，更短的关键路径长度，更注重工程对人类经验的影响，以及包容性而不是排他性的一般氛围。所有伙伴机构都承诺开办试点课程并参与改革进程。该项目有8个合作学术机构：加州洛杉矶州立大学、华盛顿大学、密歇根州立大学、塔斯基吉大学、霍华德大学、史密斯学院、史蒂文斯理工学院和约翰霍普金斯大学。 所有这些学校都有教育研究和创新的重要历史，都致力于参与整个项目，包括试点新的模块和课程。 该项目的重点是过程，即创建一个严格的课程修订过程，使课程对多样化的社区更具吸引力。 该过程涉及以下步骤：创建机械工程课程中当前包含的主题的综合数据库（已经在进行中）;审查主题列表以删除不再相关的材料并添加未来需要的材料;将每个主题与理解的先决条件、其适用的应用程序以及可以链接的非技术材料联系起来;从数据库和既定目标中构建课程图，这些目标包括最大限度地缩短关键路径长度，跨技术主题以及跨技术和非技术主题进行整合，更加关注应用程序和工程的社会需求，引入更多的团队合作经验，并过渡到更具包容性的环境;试行新课程或课程单元，以检验新课程是否能吸引和留住更多样化的学生群体。 这将伴随着严格的评估和评价。